State legislators met here to discuss how to revamp an $11 billion water bond that's scheduled to go before voters in November.

No fewer than seven proposals have been introduced in Sacramento. All of them would scale back the size of the bond, which many consider to be bloated and unlikely to win voter approval.

Concerns remain in the Delta, however, that a water bond might facilitate Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed twin tunnels project. The tunnels are to be paid for by those who would benefit, but the governor's plan also relies on billions of dollars in public money to convert 100,000-plus acres of Delta farmland into habitat for fish and wildlife. A water bond could provide some of those funds.

"We maintain habitat restoration without sufficient water flows will not succeed in restoring the Delta," Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, director of Stockton-based Restore the Delta, told legislators Thursday.

The meeting is one of a series that have been held up and down the state to gather perspectives on what should be included in a new water bond. The process stands in contrast with that of the original 2009 bond, which was passed in the dead of night and was viewed as a "Christmas tree" full of earmarks.

Negotiations continue over what the new bond should look like, but discussion Thursday focused on an $8 billion proposal advanced by a group of legislators led by Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, a Democrat representing southeast Los Angeles County.

Rendon's bond includes $1 billion to sustain the Delta, as well as a provision negotiated by Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, that any Delta properties needed for bond-funded projects be acquired only from willing sellers - no eminent domain.

Another Eggman provision, requiring bond-funded projects to have a local partner from one of the five Delta counties, has been removed from the current draft. Eggman said Thursday she's hoping to reinsert that language.

The bond does not provide any money for construction of the tunnels themselves.

"I think we all know we must do something about water," Eggman said. "A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. But let's do it in a way that's fair to everybody."

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/breitlerblog and on Twitter @alexbreitler.